The right time

Chapter seven

James waits patiently by the door, looking at his time, then at Nadine, which is seated at the table, going through pictures of wedding cakes. She frowns at some of them, but that doesn't stop her search. All women are fuzzy sometimes. But this is something she inherited from her mother. Charlotte used to be fuzzy too in her younger years. Perhaps we all reach an age or point where we don't care about certain things anymore.
He looks up at Charlotte, who comes running down like a whirlwind. She's wearing the red dress, and her hair clipped up with a few curly pieces hanging out. Her handbag is in one hand and her shoes in the other.
"Sorry I'm late," she says to James looks horrified at her. "Your mother got a hold onto me."
"My mother?" He chuckles and grabs her arm. She uses him to keep her up just to slip on her shoes.
"Oh shit," Nadine giggles, looking at her mother. She gets up with a chuckle and goes around to look at her mother. "Gran sure knows what she's doing."
"Well, I could've done this too," Charlotte says, embarrassed.
"Knowing you, you would've gone out as an innocent Catholic girl," Nadine giggles and looks at her dad. "Enjoy it, and please bring her back in one piece."
"Will try," James chuckles. Charlotte stands up straight and grabs her daughter's face. She kisses her cheek before pushing off with James.
Quietly, they remain seated in the car as they drive to the restaurant. James looks around, then finally at her, who sat there, fiddling with her dress.
"Where does Nadine think we're going?" Charlotte asks him.
"Dinner," he replies. "You can't lie to your kids about anything. You know that."
"Especially not ours," she rolls her eyes and looks at him. He smiles at her and looks in front of him again.
"You look beautiful, Charlotte."
"So do you, James," she replies with a sweet smile and rests her head back, admiring his face. "I never pictured you as a tummy guy."
"Oh, Emma hates cooking. We have takeout most of the time," James chuckles. Charlotte raises an eyebrow and laughs softly. "I do yearn for your dishes."
"I would hope so," she responds and reaches out touching his stomach. He shakes and looks at her. "You look good with it."

There's people all around them. Charlotte is seated in front of James both full after their massive dinner. She sits back, relaxed, and looks at him that sat forward.
"So what kept you up the other night that you had to talk to me about over dinner?" Charlotte finally asks. He smiles and touches his glass of wine.
"I only realized then how much I've neglected you," he says and shakes his head slowly. "You deserved so much better, Charlotte."
"James," she sits forward and puts her hand on his. "We were both wrong. I was always busy with the kids, and we never made time for each other. It's okay. At least we learned from our mistakes, and we can do it better from here on. You can treat Emma the way you should've treated me, and I can allow myself to go out, have fun, and meet people."
"I married Emma because of how much she reminded me of you," he finally acknowledges after all this time. She raises an eyebrow in surprise. "The way her hair would make a buble at the bottom when she wears it up, the way she would fold her arms around me from behind when I stand somewhere thinking about life and that sparkle in her eyes when we make love. I always find something in her that reminds me of you."
"But James, that's not right," Charlotte says, getting tears in her eyes. "What about her? Surely you can't love her just because of me. She's special and she's so much more beautiful than I am."
"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever been with," he says, giving her a serious look. "It's always been you, Charlotte."
"Then why did you give up on us? Why did you move on so quickly? What drove you away, James?" She asks, trying to stop herself from crying.
"I didn't know how much I loved you until I've lost you," he whispers and holds her hand. "And I'm afraid that I lost you forever, Char."
"I can't do this," she shakes her head and pulls her hand out of his standing up. "I thought I'm strong enough, but I'm not. You are so unfair, James. Telling me this now, especially since you're married to someone else. How certain am I that you're not just in it for a little bit of fun and that you don't really mean what you say?"
She gets up and grabs her handbag about to leave, but James grabs her hand gently and takes money from his pocket. He throws it on the table, waving at the waiter. The waiter comes to them. James gives him the money and nods.
"Keep the change," he says and starts walking out with Charlotte. He pushes the door open, letting her walk first. When she got outside, she turned around to face him. The cold air hits them off guard.
"What do you want, James?" She asks with tears in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. She folds her arms around him and places her head on his chest. They finally have the peace they've been searching for. He kisses her hair and her forehead.
"I have no idea what I want, but if there's one person I want now more than ever, it's you," he whispers and looks down at her. She looks up at him and shakes her head unhappily.
"Why now?" She asks sadly. There's a lump beating against the walls of her throat. "Your mother is so nice to me all of a sudden, and now you're...playing with my fucking feelings. We are better off divorced, James."
"I know," he nods and sighs. "I'm sorry for putting you through this."
"And you're married," she says with tears in her eyes. "For whatever reason you married her, she's your wife."
He nods his head slowly to agree. She drops her head on his chest and curls her fingers into his clothes.
"Oh, I miss you, James," she cries. "I miss you so much. I'm so fucking weak."
"You're stronger than you think," he whispers and kiss her hair. "Let's get out of here."
"Okay," she whispers and close her eyes.